Canopy with latch and pivot members

ABSTRACT

A canopy for providing shade and protection from the elements to persons is disclosed. The canopy includes a silent pivoting mechanism and a quick-release feature.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a canopy which is used to protect aperson or child from direct sunlight, rain, snow, or the like, and moreparticularly to a canopy with an improved pivot member and an improvedlatch member.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventional canopies suffer from several disadvantages. In the past,conventional canopies were permanently affixed to the device on whichthey were used. Other conventional canopies allow removal, but theirremoval was often difficult, time consuming, required the use of tools,and/or sometimes required the assistance of another person.

Conventional canopies are also noisy. Often, such canopies would be usedon a baby stroller or a baby bassinet. When the caregiver opened orclosed the canopy, the canopy pivot mechanism would often create a loudnoise and awaken a sleeping child. Additionally, conventional canopiesare overly large, complex, and generally unreliable and prone tobreakdown.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an improved canopyassembly that substantially eliminates one or more of the problems ordisadvantages found in the prior art.

It is an object of the invention to reduce noise and vibrationassociated with the operation of the canopy.

It is another object of this invention to provide for easy attachmentand removal of the canopy.

It is another object of the invention to provide a design which iseasily and economically manufactured.

It is another object of the invention to increase reliability of theentire canopy mechanism and reduce overall wear.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe following detailed description or may be learned by practicing theinvention.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the invention, as embodied and broadly described, the inventionincludes, on one aspect, a pivot member for use in a canopy, comprisinga fixed member including a bearing surface, a resilient portion disposedadjacent to the fixed member and including a protrusion adapted tocontact the bearing surface, and a rotating member connected to theresilient portion and adapted to connect to a portion of the canopy,whereby the rotating member rotates with respect to the fixed member.

Another aspect of the invention includes: a canopy adapted to be mountedto a frame, comprising a flexible canopy material, a bow for supportingthe flexible canopy material, a pivot member adapted to be fixedlyconnected to the frame and pivotably connected to the bow, the pivotmember including, a fixed member including a bearing surface, aresilient portion disposed adjacent to the fixed member and including aprotrusion adapted to contact the bearing surface, and a rotating memberconnected to the resilient portion and connected to the bow, whereby therotating member rotates with respect to the fixed member to move thebow.

It is to be understood that both the general description above, and thefollowing detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and constitute a part of thisspecification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and togetherwith the written description, serve to explain the principles of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1,is a view of the canopy and a frame;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the preferred pivot member;

FIG. 3 is-d plan view of the latch member;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the latch member shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a resilient member;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a pivot member and an associated bow arm;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the pivot member shown in FIG. 6;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention generally provides a canopy to be extended and retractedin a manner which reduces noise. An additional feature relates to thequick and simple removal and attachment of the canopy from the frame.The preferred embodiment, shown in FIG. 1, generally includes apreferred canopy 10 of the present invention, and a frame 12 on which itis mounted. It should be understood that the canopy can be used with achild stroller, a bassinet, a baby buggy, a child play yard, a swingset, or any other device which is used to support or carry a person.

The invention contemplates the use of a pivot member. The preferredemodiment of this pivot member is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 1, thepivot member 14 includes a latch member 16 used to mount the canopy 10onto the frame 12, and also holds two bows 11 and 13 of the canopy 10.The pivot member 14 is preferably located on opposite sides of thecanopy, each being a mirror image of the other, and allows both of thebows 11 and 13 to pivot. In the preferred canopy, the bow 11 is easilyremovable, as explained in more detail infra, while the other bow 13remains fixed to the pivot member.

FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of one of pivot members 14. A rotatingmember, such as a releasing support 20, is connected to a portion of thecanopy, i e., the bow arm 17. The preferred releasing support 20 isconnected to a resilient member 25. A fixed member, such as a latchhousing 22, preferably includes a suitable connector 42 which is used tomount the pivot assembly 14 on a frame 12 (see FIG. 1). The preferredlatch housing 22, in addition to having a connector 42 portion, alsoincludes a circular region 40 which houses two resilient members 24 and25.

The two resilient members 24 and 25 are associated with the circularregion of the latch housing in a way which allows the resilient members24 and 25 to rotate within the circular region 40a and 40b of the latchhousing 22. A pivot coupling 26 is associated with one of the resilientmembers 24 on a bottom side. The resilient member 24 is mounted on thepivot coupling 26, and both of these elements 26, 24 rotate together inrelation to the latch housing 22. In the same way, but on the oppositeside of the latch housing 22, resilient member 25 is mounted on thereleasing support 20 and both of these elements 20, 25 rotate togetherin relation to the latch housing.

A second pivoting bow arm 18 of the canopy is mounted in pivot coupling26. Thus, it can be seen from the exploded drawing, FIG. 2, that both ofthe bow arms 17 and 18 can pivot in angular relation to the fixed latchmember 22.

To facilitate assembly of the device, all of the elements shown in FIG.2, except the removable arm 17, have a central aperture 82 (on releasingsupport 20), 56 (on resilient members 24 and 25), 49 (on latch housing22), 70 (on pivot coupling 26) and 100 (on fixed arm 17). All of theseapertures align to allow a preferred rivet 28 to pass through theseelements. Preferred rivet 28 axially connects all of these elementstogether while allowing relative rotational motion between some of theparts.

The preferred present invention contemplates the use of a fixed memberwhich includes a quick release fastener. The preferred embodiment ofthis item is shown in FIG. 3. This Figure shows the preferred embodimentof the fixed member: a latch housing 22, which includes a connectorportion 42 and a circular portion 40. As shown in FIG. 1, the connectorportion 42 secures the canopy 10 to a frame 12 via pivot member 14. Inthe preferred embodiment, a bayonet lock 46 cooperates with a suitablydesigned aperture 19 on the frame to provide a secure, quick releasefastener for the canopy. As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3(FIG. 4), the bayonet lock 46 includes a deformable ramp member 46a andan abutting shoulder member 46b. Shoulder 44 is disposed on either sideof the connector portion 42 and, working in conjunction with the bayonetlock and the frame 12 stabilizes the connector portion and the canopyshoulder 44 and also stops the insertion of the connector portion 42.

To release the canopy 10 from the frame 12, a button 15, located on theframe and corresponding to each aperture 19, is used to depress thebayonet lock 46. Button 15 presses the abutting shoulder member 46buntil it is no longer engaged to the frame. In this position, with theabutting shoulder member 46b flush with the rest of the connectorportion 42, the bayonet lock 46 is free to slide out of the aperture 19.

The circular portion 40 of the latch housing 22 includes a bearingsurface. In the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 3, two inner gearraces 48a and 48b, one on either side of the latch housing 22 serves asa bearing surface. For convenience, gear race 48a will be referred to asan upper gear race, while 48b will be referred to as a lower gear race.In the preferred embodiment the two resilient members 24 and 25 (seeFIG. 2) rotate within these gear races. Thus, upper gear race 48acooperates with an upper resilient member 25 and lower gear race 48bcooperates with a lower resilient member 24.

Each gear race 48a and 48b includes at least one indentation. In thepreferred embodiment, the gear races 48a and 48b include a plurality ofidentical, circumferentially spaced grooves. The latch housing 22 alsoincludes a central aperture 49 to receive the fastener 28 (see FIG. 2)which is used to hold the entire pivot member 14 together.

The invention also contemplates that the pivot member include aresilient portion. The preferred embodiment of this resilient portion isa resilient member 24 shown in FIG. 5. It should be understood thatresilient members 24 and 25 are preferably identical, and therefore,only resilient member 24 is discussed. The resilient member has thegeneral appearance of a circular disk with two truncated opposite ends,or flat surfaces 51. Extending from these flat surfaces 51 are twoprotrusions 50 (one extending from each flat surface 51) which areadapted to cooperate with grooves 43 on the latch housing 22. As theresilient member 24 rotates within the inner gear race 48b, theprotrusions 50 travel from indentation 43a (see FIG. 3) to hump 43b (seeFIG. 3) to indentation 43c (see FIG. 3) and so forth around the innerperiphery of the gear race 48.

As the resilient member rotates within gear race 48, the resilientmember deforms to allow protrusion 50 to travel over the humps 43b onthe gear race. It should be appreciated that the present invention, inits broader aspects, considers many ways to allow the resilient memberto deform. For example, the protrusions 50 themselves could simply bendand deflect or the disk of the resilient member could be modified toaccommodate the motion of the protrusions over the humps on the gearrace. The preferred embodiment, however, includes a relief aperture 52designed in a way which allows improved quieter indexing of theprotrusions from one indentation to the next. The shape and location ofthe relief apertures facilitates this generally quieter yet intermittentmotion.

The preferred relief apertures are located radially inward of each ofthe protrusions 50. The shape of the relief apertures also assists inproviding this generally quieter and intermittent motion. The reliefapertures are oblong with a generally rectangular shape with generousrounds. Preferably the relief apertures have two dissimilar dimensions,a longer dimension 55a and a shorter dimension 55b. The longer dimension55a extends in a generally circumferential direction roughly parallelwith the flat surface 51. The shorter dimension 55b, extends generallyradially from the center of the resilient member and perpendicularlywith respect to the longer dimension 55a.

In the most preferred embodiment, the relief aperture 52 includes a flatbottom 57b (the radially inner longer dimension side) and a chevronshaped top 57a (the radially outer longer dimension side which faces theprotrusion). The apex of the chevron 57a is also radially aligned withthe protrusion.

The resilient member 24 could be designed in other equivalent ways. Forexample, instead of apertures or punch-outs in the resilient member, theresilient member could be designed with regions, corresponding to theapertures, which are comprised of a material different (e.g., which isless rigid) than the surrounding material. Also, the regionscorresponding to the apertures could simply be regions of reducedcross-sectional area. In other words, the resilient member would besolid in regions adjacent to the protrusions (regions which correspondto the apertures 52 shown in FIG. 5), but the resilient member would bethinner in those regions.

To facilitate mounting of the resilient member, two mounting holes 54are provided to mate with respective engagement pins. For the lowerresilient member 24, which cooperates with the pivot coupling 26,engagement pins 60 are found on the pivot coupling 26 (see FIG. 6). Forthe upper resilient member 25, engagement pins 88 are found on thereleasing support 20 (see FIG. 2).

The inventive pivot member includes the use of a rotating member whichrotates with respect to the fixed member. These rotating members alsosupport portions of the canopy. The preferred embodiment of theserotating members includes a pivot coupling 26, shown in FIGS. 6 and 7,and a releasing support 20, shown in FIG. 2.

In FIGS. 6 and 7, the pivot coupling 26 comprises the bottom of pivotmember 14. The pivot coupling 26 is used to mate with the lowerresilient member 24 and to hold a fixed bow arm 18. The pivot coupling26 is a generally disk-shaped device with an outer rim 68 and a conicalouter surface 66. The top surface of the pivot coupling 26 has twoengagement pins 60 which mate with the lower resilient member 24, asdiscussed above. The top surface also includes a slot 62 which is usedto hold the fixed bow arm 18. The slot including a back wall 64 which isused to provide additional support to the bow arm and to properly alignthe bow arm during assembly. The bottom surface of the pivot couplingincludes a counter sink aperture 70 which contains the head of the rivetor fastener. The counter sink aperture 70, in conjunction with theconical outer surface, allows the bottom surface of the pivot coupling26 to remain smooth despite the fact that a connector is attached onthat surface.

The releasing support 20, shown in FIG. 2, is similar to pivot coupling26. Both items cooperate with resilient members 24 or 25, and both itemshold one of the bow arms 17 or 18. The difference is that thismember--releasing support 20--includes a easily releasable connector 98for the removable bow arm 17.

As discussed above, the releasing support 20 has two engagement pins 88which mate with the upper resilient member 25. The releasing support 20allows for quiet and intermittent rotation of the removable bow arm 17with respect to the stationary latch housing 22. A recess 92 helps toproperly locate the upper resilient element 25 between the releasingsupport 20 and the latch housing 22 (see FIG. 3). The recess 92cooperates with the upper gear race 48a of latch housing 22 to securelycapture the upper resilient member 25 between the releasing support 20and the latch housing 22.

To simplify manufacturing and assure part compatibility, the releasesupport 20 is symmetric with respect to a horizontal plane which allowsuse of the portion either side of the canopy 10. Because of thissymmetry, two additional dummy pins 90, are disposed opposite pins 88,and an additional dummy recess 94, is disposed opposite recess 92. Thedummy pins 90 and dummy recess 94 merely exist as a consequence of thepreferred manufacturing technique employed.

The releasing support 20 has a sleeve 80 which holds the removable bowarm 17. The bow arm 17 is received in a slot 86 formed through sleeve80. In the preferred embodiment, the bow arm 17 is secured to the sleeve80 by a threaded fastener 98. This fastener could be a machine screw,lag bolt, hex screw, thumb screw or any other fastener. As shown in FIG.2, the fastener 98 extends through one side of the sleeve 80, finallyextends through an aperture 102 on bow arm 17, then extends through theother side of sleeve 80 where it engages a nut 99. Preferably, the nut99 can be self-locking and both the head of the screw and the nut can becounter sunk into sleeve 80.

Slot 86 also has a back wall 87 which supports the bow arm 17 andproperly aligns the aperture 102 on the bow arm 17 with the aperture 96on the sleeve. The back wall 87 functions in a manner that is similar tothe back wall 64 found on the pivot coupling 26 (see FIG. 6).

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the canopy latch and pivotassembly of the present invention without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present inventioncover the modifications and variations of this invention provided theycome within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

I claim:
 1. A pivot member for use in a canopy, comprising:a fixedmember having a bearing surface; a resilient member disposed adjacent tothe fixed member and including a protrusion contacting the bearingsurface, said protrusion being deformable in a radially inwarddirection; and a rotating member separate from and coupled to theresilient member and connected to a portion of the canopy, whereby therotating member rotates with respect to the fixed member.
 2. The pivotmember as recited in claim 1, wherein the bearing surface includes anindentation for receiving the protrusion.
 3. The pivot member as recitedin claim 1, wherein the fixed member further comprises a shoulderportion disposed adjacent to the connection portion to stabilize thepivot member.
 4. The pivot member as recited in claim 1, wherein theresilient member includes a disk shaped member.
 5. The pivot member asrecited in claim 4, wherein the disc shaped member includes a region ofreduced rigidity.
 6. The pivot member as recited in claim 5, wherein theregion of reduced rigidity includes an aperture.
 7. The pivot member asrecited in claim 1, wherein the rotating member includes an extension toreceive the portion of the canopy.
 8. The pivot member as recited inclaim 1, wherein the rotating member includes an internal slot forreceiving the portion of the canopy.
 9. The pivot member as recited inclaim 1, wherein the rotating member includes a slot for receiving theportion of the canopy.
 10. A pivot member for use in a canopy,comprising:a fixed member having a bearing surface; a resilient memberdisposed adjacent to the fixed member and including a protrusioncontacting the bearing surface, said protrusion being deformable in aradially inward direction; a rotating member coupled to the resilientmember and connected to a portion of the canopy, whereby the rotatingmember rotates with respect to the fixed member; and wherein therotating member includes an engagement pin to interconnect the rotatingmember to the resilient member.
 11. A pivot member for use in a canopy,comprising:a fixed member having a bearing surface; a resilient memberdisposed adjacent to the fixed member and including a protrusioncontacting the bearing surface; a rotating member connected to theresilient member and connected to a portion of the canopy, whereby therotating member rotates with respect to the fixed member; a secondresilient member disposed adjacent to the fixed member and including aprotrusion contacting a second bearing surface of the fixed member; anda second rotating member connected to the second resilient member andconnected to a second portion of the canopy.
 12. The pivot member asrecited in claim 11, further comprising a fastener to interconnect eachof the fixed member, the resilient portion, the rotating member, thesecond resilient portion, and the second rotating member.
 13. A canopyadapted to be mounted to a frame, comprising:a flexible canopy material;a bow for supporting the flexible canopy material; a pivot memberfixedly connected to the frame and pivotably connected to the bow, thepivot member including:a fixed member having a bearing surface; aresilient member disposed adjacent to the fixed member and including aprotrusion contacting the bearing surface, said protrusion beingdeformable in a radially inward direction, the protrusion and thebearing surface having complementary shapes, the shape of the protrusiondefining a continuous, smooth surface; and a rotating member connectedto the resilient member and connected to a portion of the canopy,whereby the rotating member rotates with respect to the fixed member.14. The canopy as recited in claim 13, wherein the bearing surfaceincludes an indentation for receiving the protrusion.
 15. The canopy asrecited in claim 13, wherein the fixed member further comprises ashoulder portion disposed adjacent to the connection portion tostabilize the canopy.
 16. The canopy as recited in claim 13, wherein theresilient portion includes a disc shaped member.
 17. The canopy asrecited in claim 16, wherein the disc shaped member includes a region ofreduced rigidity.
 18. The canopy as recited in claim 13, wherein therotating member includes an extension to receive the bow.
 19. The canopyas recited in claim 13, wherein the rotating member includes an internalslot for receiving the bow.
 20. The canopy as recited in claim 13,further comprising a second bow for supporting the flexible canopymaterial.
 21. The canopy as recited in claim 13, wherein the rotatingmember includes a slot for receiving the portion of the canopy.
 22. Apivot member for use in interconnecting a frame to a canopy,comprising:a fixed member having a bearing surface, a shoulder portiondisposed adjacent said bearing surface and a connection portionextending from said shoulder portion, the connection portion having alocking portion that engages an aperture in the frame to connect thefixed member to the frame, the locking portion being manually adjustablefrom a first locking position to a second unlocking position; aresilient member disposed adjacent to the fixed member and including aprotrusion contacting the bearing surface, said protrusion beingdeformable in a radially inward direction; and a rotating memberconnected to the resilient portion and connected to a portion of thecanopy, whereby the rotating member rotates with respect to the fixedmember.
 23. The pivot member as recited in claim 22, wherein theshoulder portion is disposed adjacent to the connection portion tostabilize the pivot member.
 24. The pivot member as recited in claim 22,wherein the bearing surface includes an indentation for receiving theprotrusion.
 25. The pivot member as recited in claim 22, wherein theresilient portion includes a region of reduced rigidity.
 26. The pivotmember as recited in claim 22, wherein the rotating member includes aslot for receiving the portion of the canopy.